Mark van Bommel ended his first match as Belgium head coach on Friday with a convincing win. The Red Devils were too strong for Italy at the Stadio Olimpico, winning 0-2 thanks to superb goals from Mika Godts, his first for Belgium, and Dodi Lukebakio. Van Bommel and Belgium have therefore made an excellent start to the Nations League group stage.
For his debut, Van Bommel freshened things up most in attack. Mika Godts and Diego Moreira got their chance on the flanks alongside Charles De Ketelaere, while Romelu Lukaku started on the bench. For Italy, Alessandro Romano made his debut in midfield and Roberto Mancini went with Moise Kean and Francesco Pio Esposito up front.
Belgium looked comfortable with the new set-up from the opening stages. After seven minutes, De Ketelaere had a big chance after a fine pass from De Bruyne, but Donnarumma denied him. At the other end, Pio Esposito hit the post from an offside position.
Then the breakthrough came after 20 minutes. Godts picked up the ball on the left, cut inside and used a feint to beat two Italian defenders, before the former Ajax player beat Donnarumma for 0-1. Belgium sensed blood after that and carved out several chances through De Ketelaere, Raskin and Godts again to quickly double their lead, but Donnarumma kept Italy alive.
Before half-time, Van Bommel’s side still looked the more dangerous and saw De Cuyper shoot narrowly wide. Italy improved somewhat towards the end of the first half and Kean found the side netting from a promising position, before Ngoy also aimed wide at the other end just before the break. Belgium therefore went into the dressing room with a deserved lead.
That changed after the break, with Italy immediately putting the Red Devils under pressure. Kean looked certain to score the equaliser shortly after the restart, but Lammens kept it out with an excellent save with his legs and then also had to intervene on efforts from Pio Esposito. Belgium still carried a threat in between through De Bruyne, who headed straight at Donnarumma after a cross from De Ketelaere.
With Italy on the front foot, Van Bommel responded after 58 minutes by replacing De Bruyne and Moreira with Hans Vanaken and Lukebakio. Roberto Mancini also made three substitutions a few minutes later, but Belgium’s substitute decided the contest. In the 69th minute, Lukebakio received the ball around the halfway line and drove towards the Italian penalty area on his own.
From there, the attacker cut inside and unleashed a brilliant strike from outside the penalty area, leaving Donnarumma with no chance for 0-2. Italy could not fight their way back into the match after that, meaning Van Bommel begins his spell as Belgium head coach with a win on Italian soil. For the Red Devils, it also marked their first victory over Italy in six meetings between the sides.
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